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Guwahati, March 13: A mere 494 persons out of 8,773 people who were charge-sheeted for child marriage and POCSO cases in Assam have been convicted since 2017, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday. Replying to a query by Congress MLA Abdur Rashid Mandal in Assam Assembly, Sarma said a total of 8,773 people have been chargesheeted under Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) between 2017 and February 2023. “A total of 494 persons were convicted and a...

Guwahati, February 15: Observing that arresting a large number of people in the crackdown against child marriage created “havoc in the private life of people”, the Gauhati High Court has said there is no need for custodial interrogation of the accused in such cases. The court also rapped the Assam government for slapping stringent laws like the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) and rape charges on child marriage accused, and stated that these are “absolutely weird” allegations. Hearing a batch of petitions by a group of...

Guwahati, February 12: The recent arrests of over 3,000 people allegedly involved in child marriages in Assam has created a divide in the civil society, with a section asserting that mere law enforcement cannot be the solution while some arguing that at least the law is being discussed and may proved to be a deterrent. More than 3,000 people allegedly associated with child marriages have been apprehended so far across Assam, and lodged in temporary jails, sparking protests by women who decried the arrest of sole breadwinners of their families....

Guwahati, February 10: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that 2,789 people have been arrested so far during the ongoing crackdown on child marriage, which completed a week on Friday. The government has also initiated a process to take measures for the rehabilitation of “victims” of child marriage. “Now, total arrest – 2789. Crackdown continues,” Sarma wrote on Twitter. Though protests at various places by families of those arrested have been reported in the last few days, Assam Police spokesperson Prasanta Kumar Bhuyan had on Thursday said that no...